A perfect hobby...

But this post isn't about the seven rubbermade totes that house my fabric, or the two totes of skins and leather, or the five baskets of sewing supplies...NO SIREE! It's about what YOU should pack in your sewing tin! You, too, could love sewing, with a simple tin, kept in the same place, just like me!

First, you should probably find a good canvas bag. I WAS using a gap snowflake bag, but somehow my yarn ended up in there, and now, I'm using THIS: (!) A great bag to house everything.

In that bag, are my few sewing projects. When I get tired of sewing one thing, I move on to the next. Its like a workout routine. Sometimes you just get bored sewing gloves constantly...so you move onto mukluks!

I have several projects that are housed in a perfect little case. Not too expensive and readily found in any grocery store. Gallon sized Ziplock bags. :) They're perfect.

Right now, I'm working on Dean's sealskin gloves with muskrat lining...

(See honey, they would have been done LONG ago if I had that sewing machine!!!... :) )

Gramma's Christmas Present that I found out was NOT done, contrary to my hard belief that it WAS. (sorry Gramma, but you don't need these in Phoenix, Oh...and sorry for telling you what they were too. :( )

Kaisa's mukluks. Except I don't like the bottom, so I'm going to RIP the entire bottom off the other one that's done, and find some Caribou skin to use instead of the mouton and leather. Holds up better I think.

And the Kuppaqs for Kaisa's mukluks. This is the decorative trim on top the mukluks. Hers is a black and white calfskin heart pattern. (Ahlu is her Inupiaq name)...

THEN you need a nice medium sized tin. It can be from anything. Like mine, "Uncle Willy's Caribbean Rum Cake" works perfect for me.

INSIDE that tin, you want the following:

A good skin cutting Ulu...and Knife. (if you're lucky enough to have a husband like mine, who makes them!)

Small scissors, both kids scissors and embroidery scissors work well.

Alligator Clips. I use these to hold all kinds of things, from the project to a measuring tape. They work well to hold two pieces of skin together while you're trying to sew them.

Thimbles. I have two. One leather one that I LOVE (thanks Roxy!) that goes on my middle finger...and one uugruk skin one that I use on my pointer finger, when needed.

Sinew. This stuff is synthetic, but doesn't stretch, and is three strands thick. Some people like to use Dental floss, but that has a tendency to stretch, so I don't use it.

You have to cut your length and separate the three strands. Use them one at a time.

And...LOTS AND LOTS of skin sewing needles. I tend to use one for a bit, and then change, when it bends. I probably use them only two to three times before getting rid of them. I also use different sizes between 6 and 9.

(Yes, that is my ivory wedding ring in there...and a bunch of random ivory and fur pieces!)

Skin Sewing needles have a razor type edge at the tip that helps it glide through the skin easily.

And that's about it. My stuff is packed away nicely in my rum cake tin and its ALWAYS there when I need to relax and SEW! Like today, when I got a $1,200 bill for yesterday's water fiasco, and found out it'll cost between $8 and $10 thousand to fix the problem left to us by the previous owners. Yay... Needless to say, I'll be sewing a bunch within the next few days to relax!

OK, now go out and get yourself a sewing kit!

P.S. This is what Kaisa and Dean look like when I'm sewing! haha... A perfect chair!

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*Warning...

You're happening upon an Eskimo Blog above the Arctic Circle. If you didn't already know, Eskimo's kill animals and then take care of them and then eat them. Chances are you'll see blood, guts, knives and guns on this blog. There are also pretty big chances you'll see cute little animals before and after they're killed. If you don't like that kind of stuff, go buy your meat from Costco or something. Cause this FinnSkimo LOVES meat. Especially the kind that's all natural and taken care of by me. :)There are lots of other stuff on here too. Sewing, Baking, Snow, and Midnight Sun if you care to stay. Thanks for visiting.

About Me

I'm the oldest of three Original Finnskimo's. Half Inupait Eskimo and half Finnish. My mom's People are dark skinned, dark eyed, and dark haired nomadic hunters who live in the tundra and subsist off the surrounding wildlife and greens. My dad's People are fair skinned, blond haired, blue eye'd skiers who moved around the world following my grandfather's jobs logging.
I meet in the middle. I grew up in a sod-ish house, one room, honey bucket and showered at the local Recreation Center on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. We rarely ate meat bought from the store. I learned to sew skins and cloth at an early age, and spent every summer at our fish camp.
My life isn't that exciting, to me...but to you, it might be! I live a hectic and fast paced life trying to keep up with my kids, husband, and friends.
My husband, an avid outdoorsman and pilot, our mixed family of kids and dogs and I live in Kotzebue, Alaska located 30 miles above the Arctic Circle where you have to fly in or out to see us. We love it here, but we LOVE to leave to "America" too!

Personal and Confidential Information

All information posted on this blog is personal and confidential. Unless of course you happen to stumble on it Googling "Eskimo Bingo" or "Sarah Palin" cause, come on, lets be honest, you did. This is a personal blog. If you're a member of PETA, congratulations, so am I. But my PETA stands for "People for the Eating of Tasty Animals." So, lets not get into a fight, cause lets face it, I have lots of guns and I'm an Eskimo. So pretty much that already makes me cooler than you, so just back off. The information about my children and my family is meant to enlighten you about our lives way up here in Kotzebue. Also...don't take anything too seriously, you could cause yourself to have a heart attack. It's so not worth throwing a hissy fit over the killing of a few animals to feed and clothe my family. And make good Blog banter. Lastly, any information taken from this blog without permission, will end up with me sicking my attack lab on you whose only job it is to protect this blog. Anyone who has a problem with mouse killers: Just stop right there, take a bubble bath or something. If you're REALLY mad, then talk to my mouse lawyer. I already have a case pending in mouse court, so we'll just add to the charges. ENJOY! Oh, one last thing: Eskimo's don't live in Igloo's.